Smart break math starts with correct paid and unpaid time rules. Everhour turns approved time data into usable timesheets.
Enter your daily hours and rate to instantly calculate total hours, regular pay, and any overtime — no spreadsheet needed.
The calculator gives you the number — Everhour takes it from there.
One click and you're timing. Start a timer, add an entry, edit the details. This is exactly how it feels in Everhour.
Set a budget, assign rates, and get alerted before you're over.
Measurement
Track your budget through time or costs
Every report you need — configured your way, always up to date.
Tracked hours flow straight into a polished invoice — no copy-paste, no manual math.
A smart break calculation answers one practical question: how many paid hours remain after break time is handled correctly. For U.S. timesheets, short breaks an employer provides, usually about 5 to 20 minutes, count as compensable hours worked under federal law. A bona fide meal period is generally unpaid only when the employee is completely relieved from duty.
The calculation also protects weekly totals. Covered, nonexempt employees in the United States must receive overtime pay for hours worked over 40 in a fixed FLSA workweek. That workweek is 168 fixed hours, and hours cannot be averaged across multiple workweeks to avoid overtime.
Smart calculation works best when it checks the obvious math and leaves legal classification to a policy owner. Automation can read clock punches, subtract a marked unpaid meal, keep paid short breaks in the total, and flag entries such as a 12-hour day with no meal entry. It cannot decide whether the employee was completely relieved from duty during lunch.
Federal law does not require lunch or coffee breaks for adult employees. Break requirements, when they exist, come from state law or employer policy. A smart break workflow should label the source of each rule, federal baseline, state rule, employer policy, or contract term, because the same 30-minute entry changes the total only when it qualifies as unpaid time.
Start with the gross shift span, then subtract only unpaid break time. Keep paid short breaks inside paid time. Formula: paid hours = clock-out time minus clock-in time minus unpaid break hours. For pay, multiply paid hours by the hourly rate before applying taxes, deductions, overtime premiums, or any state-specific rule.
For example, an employee works from 6:00 AM to 5:00 PM, takes two paid 15-minute rest breaks, takes one 60-minute bona fide unpaid meal period, and earns $23.75 per hour. The gross span is 11 hours. The paid breaks stay in the total, the unpaid meal comes out, paid time is 10 hours, and straight-time pay is $237.50.
A one-off calculator is enough when you need to check one shift, fix a single timesheet line, or explain why paid short breaks stayed in the total. It also works for a quick payroll review when the break labels are already correct and weekly overtime has already been checked inside the fixed workweek.
A managed workflow becomes necessary when employees clock in and out daily, managers approve corrections, or payroll needs a clean handoff. Everhour can turn Google, Outlook, and iCloud calendar events into timesheet entries within a configurable 15-minute to 3-hour window, while excluding all-day, recurring, and pre-connection events.
This content is for general information only, may not be fully up to date, and is provided without any warranty or liability.
High Performer
G2
Summer 2026
Best Ease Of Use
Capterra
Summer 2026
Rated in the top time trackers across G2, Capterra, and TrustRadius — with consistent praise for ease of use, integrations, and support.
Subtract only breaks that are unpaid under the applicable rule or policy. Under the federal baseline, short employer-provided breaks, usually about 5 to 20 minutes, are paid hours worked. A bona fide meal period is generally unpaid only when the employee is completely relieved from duty.
Software can apply the label you give it, but the unpaid meal decision comes from facts, policy, and law. An employee who performs duties while eating is still working under the federal hours-worked rule. State law or employer policy can add stricter break requirements.
Yes. Federal law treats short employer-provided breaks, usually about 5 to 20 minutes, as compensable hours worked. Those paid minutes count toward the weekly total. Covered, nonexempt employees receive overtime after 40 hours worked in one fixed FLSA workweek.
No. For federal overtime, the FLSA workweek is a fixed and regularly recurring 168-hour period. Hours cannot be averaged across multiple workweeks. A long week and a short week stay separate when calculating overtime for covered nonexempt employees.
Review alerts for missing meal entries, unusually long unpaid breaks, shifts that cross midnight, and edits that move time between workweeks. Federal time-clock rounding is accepted only when it averages out over time and does not underpay employees for actual hours worked.
Everhour integrates with Google, Outlook, and iCloud calendars so events with defined start and end times can become timesheet entries. The sync window is configurable from 15 minutes to 3 hours before or after the event, and all-day, recurring, and pre-connection events do not sync.
Everhour timesheets let employees submit weekly time for review, and managers can approve, reject, or partially approve submitted entries. Submitted time is locked unless withdrawn or rejected, and approved time stays locked for regular members before payroll or billing review.
Track calendar-based time, review submitted entries, and keep approved hours ready for payroll or billing. Everhour connects time entries to timesheet workflows that reduce manual re-entry.
14-day free trial · No credit card · Cancel anytime
